Banana Heart Summer

After a few months of reading a chapter or two during my ‘pockets of freetime,’ upon waking up, before sleeping or during lunch time at work, and during brief stops in my recent Ilocos trip, I finally finished reading last weekend the novel “Banana Heart Summer.” My heart reeled with emotions – joy, sadness, grief,…

Of Sunlight, Casual Walks and Novels

January is an exciting time for new plans and resolutions. A lot of people would usually spend the first week of the new year in the best way possible. I wanted to — meet a good friend, try a new resto, read the first book of the year, watch the first movie of the year,…

When Breath Becomes Air (Paul Kalanithi, 2016)

When I saw the pale blue book with the image of a surgeon’s back as the cover, on one of the shelves in Morawa Bookstore in Vienna, during my visit last weekend, I didn’t pay it special attention. Even after I briefly read the title and the synopsis at the back cover, it didn’t impress…

Managing Oneself (Peter F. Drucker, 2008)

Six months after I arrived in Paris in 2018 for my foreign assignment, I ordered a book in Amazon about the history of France. Then, I saw that one of the recommended books is a white and orange booklet with the helpful title “Managing Oneself.” I thought, “Why not? It will possibly help me adjust…